One of the earliest proponents of urban farming in the country is Subur Community Gardens. It was founded by garden enthusiast and former health writer Chan Li Jin as a social enterprise in Dec 2012.
Subur’s purpose is to encourage communities to come together to grow their own food and learn about planting.
“I started Subur mainly because I wanted to share the love and benefits of gardening with people. As an avid gardener, I often felt that gardening had changed my life in so many ways.
“One of the things I often tell people is that you will never feel the same way about life once you have eaten something that you have planted yourself.
“You know how people discard the chopped chillis, spring onions, garlic or tomatoes that are used to flavour or garnish dishes? If you have experienced the process of growing it from seed, you will have renewed respect for those little bits of vegetables! They are different because you can taste the original and authentic taste of vegetables that are grown pesticide-free,” said Chan, 51.
Having been a health writer for over a decade, she kept hearing the same advice from medical experts when it comes to all the various diseases – that the best prevention is a healthy lifestyle with exercise, sunshine (Vitamin D), a good diet and good sleep.
“That’s everything that gardening provides. There is an abundance of scientific research on how gardening improves physical and psychological health, such as for dementia, anxiety, depression and skin conditions such as eczema. It also helps in anti-ageing,” explained Chan.
After starting Subur, she went about equipping herself with the technical skills in areas such as permaculture design, community gardening, urban farming, mushroom farming, worm farming, regenerative farming and kelulut rearing.
Between 2013 and 2015, she worked closely with Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s Local Agenda 21 to teach People’s Housing Project (PPR) communities how to begin and manage their community gardens.
“We also ‘adopted’ some charities, such as a children’s home in Dengkil and an old folks home in Kuala Lumpur, where we created vegetable gardens and taught the residents how to maintain the plots.”
Chan also worked with Setia Foundation to create community gardens in three schools, teaching the teachers and children about composting, garden design and gardening basics.
In 2016, together with some like-minded friends, she co-founded an urban farm known as Urban Hijau in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
“We used urban farming to teach city folks and university students about community service and volunteerism. Imagine showing how to plant paddy, tomatoes and chillis in the heart of the city on prime property to university students and professionals, many of whom could not tell a kangkung from a long bean until it’s served on the table,” Chan quipped.
From 2017 to 2020, Subur was inactive as Chan went into full-time employment with Mercy Malaysia.
At the end of last year, Chan resumed the pursuit of her passion after leaving Mercy.
“Since then, I’ve been doing a lot of (social media) posts and live videos on Facebook to spread knowledge on gardening, especially edibles,” she said.
“I prefer doing live videos because I want people to see my plants and gardens in real-time, not something recorded or photo-shopped to perfection.”
In her 7’x 5’ (2.1m x 1.5m) balcony, she has planted lady’s fingers, chillis, mint, spring onions, sawtooth coriander, kangkung, Thai basil and serai, to name a few, in pots, to “show people they don’t need a big farm to feed their families”.
“With the lockdown, people now realise how important it is to have basic gardening knowledge so that they don’t have to run out (and risk catching Covid-19) just because they need to buy a sprig of coriander, kesum or lemongrass!”
Chan said there is a lot of information on the Internet, but not all are applicable to our country’s climate, living or soil conditions.
“It also surprised me when people asked what I thought were basic questions, only to realise that I had the privilege to learn the basics in school and from my parents in my childhood. With Malaysia striving for industrialisation in the last two decades, much of the basic knowledge and interest has sadly been lost,” said Chan.
Looking ahead
Community gardens in urban areas, she added, play vital roles in today’s society – providing fresh and nutritious food, teaching people about nature and food sources, community engagement, digital-free social interaction, and helping people go back to the basics.
“They are crucial for communities to stay connected (and sane!), especially in times like the lockdowns when we have to reduce movement.
“Being among plants and soil stimulates the senses which improves muscle strength and mental health, and helps burn calories from excessive eating.
”It also improves the immune system, as research shows that children growing up in over-sanitised environments tend to develop more allergies compared to those in rural areas with more exposure to microorganisms in their surroundings. This is known as the Hygiene Hypothesis,” she explained.
After the pandemic, community gardens should continue to make an impact in people’s lives, added Chan.
“I truly hope the current interest in community gardening will continue post-pandemic. What this pandemic has done is create a small window of opportunity to reignite the conversation about the importance of growing your own food and cultivating a garden.
“Most community gardens focus on planting edibles, and interest might wane once people resume their lifestyles after the pandemic because vegetables are relatively cheap and wet markets are easily accessible in Malaysia.
“However, we can keep the interest alive by planting perennials (such as tapioca, fruit trees, lemongrass and ornamental plants), which require less care and are equally satisfying to grow,” she suggested.
Chan’s plan for Subur includes making it financially sustainable.
“I sincerely hope to find like-minded funders and partners who share my concern for the environment and the lives of our future generations. It is not something that can be done as a side hustle because it requires full commitment in terms of time, strategy and engagement.”
In the meantime, she plans to continue sharing her knowledge with interested parties and on social media channels.
“For a start, my dream is actually to get every taman to have their own community compost area where residents can bring their garden and kitchen waste to be turned into good quality soil and fertilisers.
“Erosion is a serious problem in the tropics because of our frequent rains and winds. What we need is the knowledge on how we can conserve the rich natural resources gifted to our bountiful land,” she said.
Chan knows it will take concerted effort from all sectors – public, private, media and civil societies – to mainstream community gardens in Malaysian society.
“I believe that community gardens can be the balm that heals the disconnect in today’s fast-moving society. I’ve seen it happen before – how those who need to heal from traumatic experiences, who want to find meaning or create impact, who want to invest in the future generation, find the solution in community gardening. I hope to be able to witness every neighbourhood starting their own community garden in my lifetime,” she concluded.
For details, go to Subur Community Gardens' Facebook page.
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